


your skin tells a story

by ALeigh30



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Tattoos, tattoed!felix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27122344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALeigh30/pseuds/ALeigh30
Summary: "Show me a man with a tattoo and I'll show you a man with an interesting past." - Jack London[Written for Ashelix Week 2020. Prompt: Crests]
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18
Collections: Ashelix Week 2020





	your skin tells a story

“How many do you have?”

Felix shrugs, leaning back against his boyfriend. They were sitting on the floor of their hotel room, the moon illuminating the space making an intimate atmosphere. Ashe was sandwiched between the bed and Felix, tracing the lines of one of Felix’s more recent tattoos - a menacing red thunderstorm with a crack of lightning down his left forearm. “Hell if I know. I stopped counting years ago.”

Ashe hums in response. Since they started dating, Felix constantly caught Ashe staring at his body art. Not in a bad way. Ashe was just… fascinated.

_“Is it gonna be a problem?” Felix had asked on their first date, fully expecting the night to end right there._

_“What? N-no! Not at all!” Ashe had stuttered, cheeks flushing at being caught staring at the thunderstorm peeking out from under his sleeve. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean any disrespect. I just… I think it’s beautiful.”_

Felix wasn’t used to any part of him being called beautiful. And for it to come from someone like Ashe, whose eyes shone like gemstones, whose smile truly lit up a room, who was the purest idea of beauty... 

Felix constantly wonders how he got so lucky.

“Do they all mean something?” Ashe asked, bringing Felix’s attention back to the present.

“Most. Not all.”

Ashe nods and rests his chin on Felix’s shoulder. Most of his ink was on display tonight, the warmth of summer in Derdriu forcing him into a tank top and shorts. Felix is marked almost everywhere from his shoulders to his ankles. In stark contrast, Ashe is unblemished, save for the freckles that dust across his nose and are, presumably, sprinkled all over his body. (Felix likes to think of them as constellations - a unique set of tattoos from the Goddess herself.)

“How about this one?” Ashe taps the back of Felix’s right hand. Amongst a tangle of lavender colored heather, thorns, and briars sits a stylized shield with a sword at its center. “Does this one mean anything?”

Felix nods. “It’s a part of my family’s coat of arms or something.” he responds nonchalantly. “I saw it on some old documents in my father’s office when I was young. I guess it really made an impression. It was my first one.”

“Did it hurt?”

Felix shrugs again. “Most good things do.”

“Ah. That’s really cool.” Ashe marveled, tracing the vines through a thicket of nasturtium flowers, up to Felix’s elbow where the design shifts into rays of the sun. The center of the sun circled his elbow, the natural wrinkles of his skin adding definition and texture to the simple design. “How about this one?”

Felix chuckles. “That was a grab-bag. At the shop, you pay a hundred dollars to get a token and put it into one of those gumball machine games. Whatever design is in the capsule is your new tat. I’m surprised it turned out so well, in all honesty.”

“You let _fate_ decide your tattoo?” Ashe teased with a sly smile.

“See, it sounds ridiculous when you say it like that.”

Ashe laughed. “It _is_ kind of ridiculous. Especially for you.” He pressed his lips to Felix’s cheek and lazily followed the rays up Felix’s bicep to his shoulder where the sun’s rays blended into a mandala design and then disappeared under the strap of his shirt. Felix sits forward as Ashe runs his hand between his shoulder blades in a lazy massage. “Do you have any on your back?” he asked softly.

Felix smiled fondly at the question even though Ashe wouldn’t see it. They’ve only been dating a short time and have been taking things rather slow (painfully slow, some might say). Felix doesn’t mind, however. He has his own reasons for not pushing Ashe to give more than he was ready to give. For Ashe to ask for this next step, even indirectly, made Felix’s heart skip a beat.

“A couple.” he responds. “I can show you…?”

Ashe stops his ministrations, processing the offer. “Uhm… yeah.” he responds hesitantly. Felix can easily imagine the flush coloring Ashe’s cheeks and the shy look in his eyes. “Only if you want to, of course!”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t.” he states.

“O-oh. Right.”

Felix rubs Ashe’s knee reassuringly and scoots forward. Reaching over his shoulders and pulling up on the collar of his shirt, Felix pulls the back of his tank top over his head, leaving his back on display. He hears Ashe let out an astonished gasp before he feels nimble fingers begin tracing ink once again. From the tip of a wing on his right shoulder, to the center of his back, attached to the shield and sword design, into another wing. Below each wing are two sets of initials in a flowing script with dates below them. It’s the biggest piece Felix has and carries the most weight and meaning.

“For my brother and my father.” Felix offers without preamble.

Ashe’s fingers ghost reverently over the initials.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Ashe whispered softly against Felix’s skin as he placed a soft kiss in the center of the shield.

Felix grunts with a shrug. “Circle of life and all.”

“Still… Loss like that is hard. I can relate…”

Ashe always finds ways to take Felix by surprise. Felix isn’t used to such honesty and openness. Ashe idealizes a notion of chivalry, looks for the good in everyone, and wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s Felix’s complete opposite. Where Ashe is warm like the summer sun, Felix is cold like forged steel; Where Ashe doesn’t hesitate to share and try to empathise with others, Felix keeps his feelings close to his chest, unwilling to show a hint of vulnerability.

Even so, he finds himself letting down his walls for Ashe, letting him in, piece by piece. It’s an unfamiliar situation, yet he finds himself willing to follow Ashe’s lead.

Ashe continues tracing lines down Felix’s left arm, swooping through angry clouds and following the crack of lightning until finally taking Felix’s hand in his and intertwining their fingers.

“If you ever want to talk about it, I’ll be here to listen.” _You’re not alone anymore._

Felix squeezes their hands. “Thanks.” He turns around slightly, gazing into Ashe’s bright green eyes. “You too, you know. I’m not good at… this. But I’ll be here for you too.” _I’ll work on being better for you._

Ashe smiled and leaned in to press their lips together. _You already are._

“Well, that got deep really fast.” Ashe jokes when they pull away, leaning his forehead against Felix’s. “Should we head to bed?”

Felix hummed and gave Ashe another light kiss. “In a bit.” He settled back between Ashe’s legs and leaned against him, shirt forgotten and tossed aside. “Let’s stay here a little longer.”

Ashe accepted Felix’s weight against him and wound his arms around Felix’s waist. “As long as you’d like.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm one of those people who *love* hearing about others tattoos! Show me your ink, tell me about your ink, I am HERE for it! ^-^
> 
> Thanks for clicking friends! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know your thoughts below or on Twit, @amirah_leigh. (You can RT this fic thingy from [here](https://twitter.com/amirah_leigh/status/1318610421692203022?s=20) if you like!)
> 
> Be sure to check out the Ashelix Week collection and all the other amazing works this week!


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